Breakdown of Depois de ler o livro, passei a adotar o minimalismo.
o livro
the book
ler
to read
depois de
after
passar a
to start to (do) / to turn into (change into)
adotar
to adopt
o minimalismo
the minimalism
Questions & Answers about Depois de ler o livro, passei a adotar o minimalismo.
Why use passei a adotar instead of comecei a adotar if they both mean "I started to adopt"?
While both translate as "started to," the structure passar a plus an infinitive emphasizes a transition into a new state or a change in habit. It shows that adopting minimalism is a new phase or routine that resulted from reading the book, rather than just the beginning of a single action.
Why is the infinitive ler used after depois de instead of a gerund like in English ("reading")?
In Portuguese, prepositions like de (which is part of depois de) are almost always followed by the infinitive form of a verb, not the gerund. So, "after reading" naturally translates to depois de ler.
How do we know who is doing the reading if ler is just the basic infinitive?
Because the subject of the second half is "I" (shown by the verb passei), it is automatically assumed that the same person is doing the action in the first half. If the subjects were different (for example, "after he read the book, I started..."), you would need to use a personal infinitive for the first verb to clarify exactly who did the reading.
Why is there an o before minimalismo when the English translation is just "minimalism"?
In Portuguese, abstract concepts and broad ideas almost always require a definite article (o or a). Because the speaker is talking about minimalism as a general concept, it needs the masculine article o.
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